New Year's Kisses
by fangirlu
Summary: Jack and Allison get some sound advice from their five-year-old daughter on New Year's Eve.  Jack/Allison, Jenna.


**Disclaimer: **Eureka has officially been disclaimed.

**A/N: **Happy New Year everyone! Hope your holiday is safe, and the upcoming year is fruitful and doesn't end in a fiery ball of death (I'm looking at you, Mayans!).

**Warnings: **Very fluffy fluff ahead. So sugary-sweet, you might need to brush your teeth after reading. Enjoy!

* * *

><p>"Daddy, I wanna go with you and Mommy."<p>

Jack turned at the sound of the small voice, a smile already stretching across his face. "You do?" he asked as his daughter shuffled into the kitchen, her favorite teddy bear clutched firmly in one tiny hand. "Why?"

Jenna looked at him as if the answer should have been obvious. "Because I don't wanna go to bed. I wanna stay up late like you."

Scooping the five-year-old up with one arm, he sat her on the center island counter and gave her pink, flannel-covered foot a playful squeeze. "And just what do you know about staying up late on New Year's Eve?"

"Kevin told me," she said around a delighted giggle, squirming and yanking her foot out of his grasp.

_Of course he did,_ Jack thought and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans with a quiet sigh. The eighteen-year-old had headed back to MIT just two days before, but it was obvious that he'd gladly answered some of his sister's questions before he'd left.

"Kevin told you what?" he prompted when she remained silent in the way that young children and teenagers everywhere had perfected.

"Kevin said that adults stay up really late and sing and…" She looked around the large, brightly-lit kitchen conspiratorially then whispered, "And when the big hand and little hand are on the twelve—they kiss."

"Is that right?" He bit the inside of his cheek to hold his smile at bay. He'd learned a long time ago that his daughter hated it when she felt as if she wasn't being taken seriously.

Jenna nodded vigorously, her long, brown pigtails swinging wildly about her shoulders. "Uh-huh."

"Are you sure?"

"Kevin said."

And if Kevin said it, Jack knew that it might as well have been written in stone as far as Jenna was concerned. She adored her big brother; in her eyes he could do no wrong.

"Well," Jack began slowly, trying to decide how best to explain it, "it's true that adults stay up late on New Year's Eve and sometimes they even sing. But it's not necessarily true that everyone kisses, sweetie."

"It's not?"

"Nope." He crossed his fingers. "Only the people who are in love kiss."

That was so far from the truth it was almost criminal, but Jenna seemed satisfied.

She thought about it for a long moment before asking in a serious voice, "Will you kiss Mommy?"

"I'm not sure," he replied, knowing full well that he planned on kissing Allison and a whole lot more before the night was over. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned a hip against the edge of the counter. "Do you think I should?"

Jenna swung her little legs as she gave serious thought to his question. Finally, she nodded solemnly. "Uh-huh, 'cause Mommy might get mad at you if you don't."

"Why would Mommy get mad at me?"

"_Daddy,_" she said, packing as much five-year-old exasperation into the word as she could muster. "If you don't kiss her, she might think you don't love her."

"Ah." Jack nodded, unable to disagree in the face of such unswerving logic. "I think you might be right." He began to tickle her, grinning from ear to ear as she shrieked with laughter. "I'll definitely make sure that I kiss Mommy tonight."

"Oh, you will, will you?"

Jack's attention was immediately snagged by the sound of his wife's voice, his mouth going dry the second she walked into the kitchen. Although it was barely seven thirty and they weren't due to leave the bunker until nine, her hair and makeup were already runway perfect. A floor length, sky-blue silk robe flowed over her supple curves like water as she moved gracefully towards them, a large, happy smile wreathing her lovely face.

"You better believe it," he said, his grin turning roguish as he stared into her sparkling brown eyes.

"Mommy!" Jenna exclaimed happily at the sight of her mother. She wriggled wildly beneath Jack's hands as she tried to get Allison's attention. "You look pretty! I like your hair!"

"Thank you, honey." Allison moved to stand in front of Jenna, beaming as the little girl lifted a small hand to finger the soft curls framing her face.

"Doesn't Mommy look pretty, Daddy?"

"I think Mommy looks beautiful," Jack agreed, his heart beating just a little bit faster as Allison turned her dark gaze on him and gave him a saucy smile. Although they'd been married for just a little over three years, she still managed to send his heart into overdrive with just a touch or a look. And he suspected that fifty years from now, she still would.

Which was just fine with him.

"You ready for bed?" Allison asked their daughter, smoothing a few stray hairs back off the little girl's forehead.

Not surprisingly, Jenna shook her head forcefully. "No."

"No? But your brother is already asleep."

Jack stifled a chuckle. If Allison thought she was going to win over Jenna's cooperation by using a two-year-old as an example, she was going to be sorely disappointed.

As expected, Jenna fairly recoiled in affronted horror. "J.J. is a baby. He always goes to sleep early."

Sensing trouble on the horizon, Jack jumped into the fray. "Jenna wants to stay up late," he explained. "It seems that Kevin told her all about what adults do on New Year's Eve, and now she's curious."

"Oh, good grief," Allison mumbled under her breath. She looked up at him, one perfectly sculpted eyebrow hiked high in the air. "And just what did he tell her?"

"That we stay up late and sing," he ticked off on his fingers, "and…what else?" He pretended to forget the rest, squinting his eyes and scratching his head as if he were deep in thought.

"And kiss!" Jenna helpfully filled in.

"And that," he added, nodding. "We kiss when the big hand and the little hand are on twelve. Right?" He looked at Jenna for confirmation.

Jenna bobbed her head gravely. "That's what Kevin said."

Allison gave Jack a look that clearly indicated that she thought that Kevin talked too much.

"Don't worry," he said in a low voice, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and massaging gently, "I'll talk to him."

Allison nodded gratefully then turned back to Jenna with a tender smile. "Sweetie, tomorrow is New Year's Day, and I promise that you, J.J., Daddy and I will do something fun. How does that sound?"

"But why can't I go to Uncle Vincent's party with you and Daddy?" Jenna asked, her huge brown eyes wide and pleading.

"Because Uncle Vincent's party is for adults, and little girls named Jenna Carter should be in bed way before the clock strikes twelve."

"But I wanna stay up late too," she said again, but her voice lacked its earlier conviction. Her entire body drooped as it seemed to become clear to her that her parents weren't going to give in.

She looked so crestfallen that Jack felt compelled to offer her a consolation prize. He held out his hands and she quickly jumped into his arms.

Winking at Allison over Jenna's head, he playfully tweaked his daughter's nose and said, "I'll tell you what. Mommy and I will let you stay up until nine o' clock. That's a whole hour past your bedtime. Alright, munchkin?"

Jenna's sudden smile was as bright as a supernova. "Yay!"

"Why don't you go into the living room and ask S.A.R.A.H. to call Kevin and Zoe so you can wish them a Happy New Year, okay? We'll be right in."

"Okay!"

After she'd given him a loud, enthusiastic kiss on the cheek, Jack set his newly energetic daughter onto her footie-clad feet. She took off at a sprint.

"No running!" Allison called out after her and then turned back to Jack, her hands on her hips. "You know she's got about a good thirty minutes before she'll be dead to the world, right?"

"I know," Jack said, sliding his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. "But did you see her little face light up? How cute was that?"

"God, Jack." Allison shook her head and laughed. "Jenna's got you wrapped around her little finger."

He shrugged, knowing it was true and not caring one bit. "Yep—just like her mother."

"If only."

"Oh, you'd be surprised." He shivered as her fingers danced lightly down the front of his plain white t-shirt and over the flat plane of his stomach.

Allison laughed again, pressing him back against the counter and looking up at him coyly. "Now what were you saying earlier? Something about kissing me?"

"Oh, that," he said nonchalantly, tightening his hold on her as she slid her arms around his neck. "Jenna just wanted to make sure that I kissed you tonight, that's all."

"She did? Why?"

"So you would know that I love you." He leaned down and nuzzled the side of her neck.

She sighed and melted against him. "I told you that she was a genius."

"Then be forewarned," Jack said, lifting his head and pressing his forehead against hers, "because later tonight, we'll be doing a lot more than kissing."

Even through multiple layers of silk and cotton, he could feel Allison's heart racing wildly in her chest.

"I can't wait," she whispered breathlessly.

Jack grinned.

Neither could he.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** In case you were wondering, J.J. stands for Jackson Jr. In my mind, Jack's full name is Jackson (although it wouldn't suprise me a bit if it's really John or just Jack). In my little corner of the world, Jack has also adopted Jenna.

I've been wanting to write something with Jenna in it for a while, and this just seemed like the perfect little story to slip her into. I really enjoyed writing her and Jack together, so I'm pretty sure I'll eventually write more. Have a great 2012!


End file.
